New Year's Day traditions

[wroughtn_harv]

New Year\'s Day traditions

We have one. Dinner must have cooked cabbage, cornbread, blackeyed peas and pork.

I think it's a southern thing. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif But my wife's a little cajun so she always adds Extra Hot Rotel to the peas and sausage. That makes it a real southern thing. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

How about ya'll? Any traditions, dietary and or others to celebrate the New Year you'd care to share?

 

[Bird]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

We always have blackeyed peas; got to have those. The rest is optional and varies; usually ham, but today it was turkey, taters and gravy, macaroni and cheese, and chocolate cake (birthday cake left from my wife's birthday yesterday /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif).

Harv, we spent the winter of '71-'72 in Des Plaines, IL (I spent that school year at Northwestern University) and we could not find any blackeyed peas in the grocery stores, so we bought a good stock of them when we came home for Christmas to take back with us. Now those folks from up north said they never ate blackeyed peas, but we had a dozen or so couples, and their kids, got together on New Year's Day for a big potluck dinner, and I think my wife fixed 6 cans of blackeyed peas with ham diced up in them, and there wasn't a single one left that evening. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

Originally I didn't care much for the blackeyed peas. But when it was explained in a loving way to me that my abstaining affected her luck as well as my own. Well, I've adjusted. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Of course her adding the extra hot rotel didn't do any harm either.

 

[Bird]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

Harv, I'm glad your wife's teaching your properly. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Of course I am very fond of blackeyed peas anytime; especially if accompanied by fried okra and cornbread. And it sure doesn't hurt anything to have some sliced tomatoes and onions along with it, and even a little squash, fried or steamed. We just don't often use the Rotel tomatoes, except with the ground beef/sausage/Velveeta cheese/Rotel tomato dip that we make occasionally, but they are pretty good in the blackeyed peas.

And being back in town certainly has it drawbacks; we've been having to buy store bought blackeyed peas, but today one of our daughters still had a couple of jars of them that my wife canned in 2002. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

The Southern tradition is blackeyed peas, but when we moved to Florida, we brought our Northern tradition with us (Florida's not much of a Southern state, anyway /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif). So, it's sauerkraut and pork for us -- it means good luck and financial improvement in the coming year, and you ignore it at your peril. Actually, I don't know what bad things could happen, because I've never ignored it...

 

[frank_f15]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Dinner must have cooked cabbage, cornbread, blackeyed peas and pork.

)</font>
ok i love cooked cabbage, cornbread, pork, but can u tell me what are BLACKEYED PEAS, just a poor northern boy! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif oh yeh! send me some!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

Don, apparently the sauerkraut and pork means the same thing up north as the blackeyed peas do down south. I love my blackeyed peas, but I also like the sauerkraut; only trouble is my wife won't touch it under any circumstances, so she occasionally (very rarely) buys one of the smallest cans in the supermarket for me. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[jinman]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

Harv, of course blackeyed peas and cornbread are a tradition here, but my girlfriend was born in Ohio, so we had cabbage rolls and sauerkraut too with a healthy helping of mashed potatoes. A nice salad and a big ole glass of iced tea to wash it all down. Anyone with a lick o' sense would realize a meal like that was good luck just by itself. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Oh! I almost forgot. I baked up a couple dozen ranger cookies just because they're my girlfriend's favorite and she really likes my recipe. Yum! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bird]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

Frank, try this link for a little information about blackeyed peas and recipes. The town of Athens, TX has an annual blackeyed pea festival. In some places, they're also known as cow peas. My parents (and I as a baby) lived a short time in Baltimore in the early '40s and my parents have told many times about being unable to find blackeyed peas there until someone told them to go to a feed store, and they did. While I've never found any I didn't like, my preference is for the young green ones with a few snaps (i.e., broken like green beans). However, I had one neighbor that I let pick from my patch and he and his wife wanted only the larger ones, all shelled, but still fresh. And my youngest brother and his wife prefer the dried ones. You can buy dried ones and cook them like dried beans or you can buy canned ones that were either fresh or dried before being processed.

 

[daedong]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

Here in Aussie land we have no such traditions on new years day. Most of us just sleep and lounge about with hangovers. Its normally to hot to do much except perhaps go to the beach or water ski. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[8NTX]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Harv, I'm glad your wife's teaching your properly. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Of course I am very fond of blackeyed peas anytime; especially if accompanied by fried okra and cornbread. And it sure doesn't hurt anything to have some sliced tomatoes and onions along with it, and even a little squash, fried or steamed. )</font>

Dang, Bird....you just described my favorite meal. I'm close enough, so next year it's New Year's Day at Bird's house for me. As long as you can find some decent tomatoes then. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

My wife made a "bed" with 4 large cans of sauerkraut in the bottom of a large roasting pan, laid in some quarter-cut potatoes and some large prok chops, added spices (especially some fennel), and roasted the concoction until the pork was falling off the bones. I had made a special creole mustard sauce, something like a gravy, to go with my Christmas crown roast of pork which would have been a nice addition, but it all disappeared at the Crhistmas meal. However, the mustard gravy recipe called for heavy cream, which we don't usually have on hand, and there was enough left that my wife used it to make the mashed potatoes -- they were really rich and creamy!

I've thought about having a side dish of blackeyed peas just to double our luck, and to make sure no evil has a chance to occur, but I don't think I would have been able to eat another bite, this year. Fortunately, our luck has been running pretty good without them, but I still have a twinge of worry... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[ScottAR]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

We do somthing similar. Blackeyes, sauerkraut, cabbage, and pork. Our local variation is to have hog jaw (jowel at the store) which is basicly really fatty bacon. Usually we'll have a ham or somthing as well. Of course there are all the attendent pies, sweets, and most importantly, family.

 

[1bush2hog]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

When I was growing up, our traditional southern New Year's Day meal consisted of black-eyed peas, collard greens, and chitlins, all served at Granny's house.

Fortunately we also had chitlin cornbread and ham too /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

I'm just happy I don't have the New Year's Day tradition shared by so many-an ice bag and a bottle of aspirin. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I try to ride my bike every New Year's Day if the roads and weather are anywhere near acceptable. I have a lower level for that than most people, especially on that day. If the main roads are clear and it's not snowing or raining heavily, I'm out riding. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

This year it was nice enough out that I actually saw a couple other bikes on the road.

 

[Golfgar4]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( This year it was nice enough out that I actually saw a couple other bikes on the road. )</font>

Should have come a little farther north. You'd have seen a bunch of guys out chasing the little white ball! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[higgy]

Re: New Year\'s Day traditions

our new year tradition is lutefisk. I know you need to be crazy to eat it, but it is the tradition and we still do it. As the older generation passes on we may change it to oh.. i don't know, something like margaritas. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif